Collapsible platf pen



Aug. 7, 1951 J. ABEL 2,563,446

COLLAPSYIBLE PLAY PEN Filed July 12, 1946 INVENTOR. JA C K ABEL gw/icwV A TTOENE'K Patented Aug. 7, 1951 UNITED STATES! PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims;

This invention-relates to new and usefulimprovements -in play pens for f children.

Since these pens often are used indoors, especially -du'rlng the winter months; it isespecially desirous to provide 'onewhich can be easily and. quickly*fo1ded--up or collapsed tooccupy a very sm-all compa'ss and bestowed-away in a closet,

and it is one of the-objects-of this invention to provide "apen having these characteristics.

In one form of the invention; itis intended.

to provide a pen which has nonornersand; there:

fore, it is =stillw another object of the invention to provide a curved pen with side walls either; circularcr ov'al; Preferablythesewalls are of openwork-type such asiframes with spacedivertical bars; or are oflazy tong elements which can be expanded and-contracted at will.

Ytianotheri object is to provide foldable':fiocrs which can"either'be-entire1y removed when not in use or folded up in relation to the frame meme bers'when collapsedsw as toform a compact unit for. stowingr Other objects" of :this :invention will in part he 'obvious andsinz-part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention "accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elementsy and arrangement of parts which will beexemplia fiecl in." the construction. hereinafter described,- and of which the-scope of. application will. be indicated in the followingxclaims;

Inl brief an'd general. terms: the invention. in the first instance comprises floor e1ements',=frame. elements and the: like which are; hinged together andcan be movedaround thehinges from opera.-

tive to collapsed relation and vice: versa and i which yet when-i111 operative-relation haveirelated en'd'si and adjacent surfaces which J have 1 a: nonbu'tting relation; so' that noibutt 'joints 'are formed to pinch the fingers.

In" one form. of the "invention" thepen hasLend and: side? walls hinged: together; the side walls being-"oft hingedi section's which fold inwardly. when unlatch'ed to-"fold together against the end walls and formacompact' collapsed unit to stow away. Thexfloorcf this fOi'mJ may he'hinged i to the fram'et'members or walls and foldedfz there against when stowed away, without removal." The-periphery of the .flo'orbears'agains-t the walls of the pen to: hold them'iin proper desired shape;

Withicurved walled-:p'ens the fioormayj be cirs culari or oval. and: of one piece? or on foldable sections. The frame of this form comprises spaced uprightl posts? with hingedslats: between them connected." to a r common central i element which, when "lifted; wi'11:.cause.. th'e'rslatsf. toi fold up'against the posts and draw theposts together for storag'e purposes; The sidewalls preferably are of lazy' tong." construction with rope: or cables The lower portion of the lazy tong. elements are curved by the pressure of the periphery. of the :fioor. along. The lazy tonggate-like walls are preferably 1 contractable against :opposite posts when not in use to facilitate :thei'forma running along the top of the posts.

their lower portions.

tionof. a compact unit for stowing.

The present preferred :formswhich theinvention:may assume are illustrated in the drawings:

of which: I

Fig. 1 is asideelevation, with a portion-broken away, of the framerof' acircular pen.

Fig. 2 is aplaniview-of. the-'penwith'a portion of the flooring broken-away to disclose the -sup.-'

porting cleats :beneath.

Fig. 3 is a side elevationpofa portion. of.- the pen, showing the lazy tong; side. walls inex-- tended position.

Fig. uis a planview of the-circular-flooring made: of hingedly connected. sections.

Fig. 4a is a fragmentary: section taken on-fllin'e 53' is a fragmentary" detail showing the connection between the lazy tongs' andthe sur rounding cable.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional detail of theconn'ec tion between a frame-post an'd the lazy-tongs;

Fig. 7 is a. view showing, the framedn nearly collapsed condition. i

Fig; 8 .is.a. detail I of th'e detachable connection between the frame and one? end i of l a lazy' tongs gate or wall.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged. elevationofii the: detail shown in Fig. 5.

Referring'now to: the particular construction presentedzin the preferred formsof theidevice shown inFigs..1.t0 9 inclusive, it:is:.the intention todevisea pen with non-butting joints for the frame as intheuother form as well as to provide a pen in such form that there are .no corners. In other words,-. the pen in this :modification: is in the'form of a continuous curve either "circular or oval.

As shown in'bthefplan View of Fig; 2, the pen is provided with a. plurality of. frame. postssuch as 35 adapted torest upon the'floor. These posts in the. normal operative'condition' shown in Fig; 1; aresheld: in: theirr'spaced relation by. meanst-of horizontal spacer slats" which are 7 respectively hinged' at'th'eir outer ends=as at 31to"-the -posts 35 andat their'inneri ends to 'a commo'n center support block :38 "which also rests upon the floor 3 of the room. These spacer slats also act as supports for the bottom or flooring 33 of the pen which may be of the form shown in Fig. 4.

A circular piece of material for the bottom or flooring 33 is made in four sectors 39, 39a, 3%, 390, and is adapted to be folded along two diameters at right angles to each other as 40 and M. One of the fold diameters such as 40 is slit along one radius to facilitate the folding action. Sectors 39 and 39a are hinged together with the hinges on the under face, as seen in Fig. 4. Sector 39b is hinged to sector 39a, and sector 390 is hinged to sector 39, as shown, the hinges in the latter cases being located on the upper face as viewed in Fig. 4. To collapse the flooring 33, the sectors 39b and 390 are folded to lie respectively upon sectors 39a and 39, to form a semi-circle which is then folded in the opposite direction along radius 49 so that sector 39a lies fiat against sector 39, now forming a four-ply quadrant.

The slats 36 are at their ends reversely hinged, as shown, to the posts 35 and to the center block 38, so that when the bottom 33 is lifted out, the center block 38 can be raised and in so movin will cause the parts to assume the close folded relation, the approach to which is shown in Fig. 7, with the posts moved closely together so that the pen will then, as in the other form described, occupy a small compass. The side walls of the pen in this form are formed from sets of lazy tongs 42 of more or less usual construction, which are connected at each end to vertical bars 43. Of each set of lazy tongs which extend approximately one-four around the periphery of the pen, one of the bars 43 is definitely hinged as at 44 to av post or upright 35 and at the other end the other bar 43 is detachably latched by hook means 45 to the adjacent post 35. A rope or cable 46 extends half-way around the top of the pen and is connected by means of snap hooks 41 to the tops of opposite posts. As stated, there are preferably two cables or ropes each extending half-way around the pen. These cables are passed through metal loops 49 which are fastened to the sides of the tongs at the top thereof, as shown in Figs. 5

and 9. Through intermediate posts 35, the cable passes through suitable holes 49 formed therein.

The tongs are placed in position and the periphery of the bottom flooring member'33 holds the tongs in a curved manner by reason of the fact that it presses against the lower portions of the tong members, it being understood that there is sufiicient play at all the riveted joints of the lazy tong membersto permit of this bending or curving.

I As shown in Fig. 2, the bottom member is held and supported by the slats 36 and these have each a hinged support wing 50 thereon and out therefrom which can be swung out, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, to assume a position beneath the flooring away from the line of the slat to which it is connected so as to give additional support uniformly therebeneath.

. When the device is to be assembled for use or extending from its folded condition shown in Fig. 7, the center block '38 is pushed downwardly to spread theslats 36 outwardly thus pushing the frame posts to their operative positions shown in Fig. 2. The bottom flooring member is then placed on the slats 36 and their auxiliary hinged supporting wings 50., The lazy tong elements 42 are then strung around the sides. In the folded position of the device, the lazy tong walls have been unlatched at one end and collapsed up againstthe adjacent post 35 to which they are permanently hinged. When these collapsible walls are extended, the periphery of the bottom member 33 will bear outwardly against the tong elements along their bottom portion and maintain them in the curved manner shown. The corners of the bottom and of the frame elements are cut away and shaped as in the other form of the device previously described so as to avoid butting ends and thus avoid pinching the fingers of the child in the pen or those of the person assembling it. In dismantling the device, the lazy tong walls are disconnectedat one end and c o'1= lapsed together against the adjacent post. The bottom member 33 is removed and then the center block 38 is lifted to pull the frame posts together to the collapsed position. Thus it may be seen that the device may be quickly and easily assembled for use and disassembled to be stowed away in a relatively small compass.

While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to present preferred forms which the invention may assume, it is not to be limited to such details and forms since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest aspects. Hence, it is desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A play pen having upright spaced frame posts, slats hinged to the posts and hinged together at their inner ends, a foldable flooring resting on said slats, and auxiliary wings on the slats swingable to an angle thereto to afford additional support for the flooring between said slats.

2. A play pen comprising a frame of upright spaced posts and horizontal connecting slats at the bottom thereof, a flooring disposed on said slats, walls for said pen comprising lazy tong elements detachably extending between said posts, the lower ends of said lazy tong elements extending below the plane of the flooring and bearing against the edge thereof to hold the walls in the shape of the flooring.

3. A play pen comprising a frame of upright spaced posts, a floor for said pen, floor-supporting elements hinged to said posts. and extend ing beneath the floor, a cable extending between the top of the posts, and lazy tong elements supported on said cable and extending between said posts to form walls for the pen.

4. A play pen comprising a frame of upright spaced posts, a floor for said pen, floor-supporting elements hinged to said posts and extending beneath the floor, a cable extending between the top of the posts, and lazy tong elements supported on said cable and extending between said posts to form walls for the pen, the lower end of said lazy tong elements extending below the plane of the flooring and bearing against the edge thereof to conform them to the shape of the floor. v 1

5. A foldable floor element for a play pen which comprises a sheet of material foldable reversely along perpendicular diameters, said sheet being severed along a radius of one of said diameters.

6. A play pen having a frame of upright spaced posts, lazy tong elements extending between said posts and forming side walls of the pen, each 5 wall being hinged to one post and detachably connected to the other post to which it extends, and a cable extending between the posts and connected to the tops of said tong elements to support the same.

7. A play pen having a frame of upright spaced posts, lazy tong elements extending between said posts and forming side walls of the pen, each wall being hinged to one post and detachably connected to the other post to which it extends, a cable extending between the tops of the posts, means on the tops of the lazy tong elements to connect to the cable to support the elements therefrom, a floor for the pen disposed between and near the bottom of the posts, the plane of said floor being above and bearing against the bottoms of the lazy tong elements along its periphery to hold the side walls in the shape of the bottom.

8. A play pen having upright spaced frame posts, slats hinged to the posts and hinged together at their inner ends, a flooring resting on said slats, and auxiliary wings on the slats swingable to an angle thereto to afford additional support for the flooring between said slats.

9. In a play pen having adjustable walls and a floor wherein the walls may be drawn together to contract the pen into small compass, a support for said floor comprising spaced slats hinged to said walls and hinged together at their inner ends, and auxiliary wings on the slats swingable to an angle theretov to afford additional support for the flooring between said slats.

JACK ABEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 540,863 Lawson June 11, 1895 754,150 Lehrer Mar. 8, 1904 1,340,694 Winget May 18, 1920 1,413,068 Stotler Apr. 18, 1922 1,429,335 Gabriel Sept. 19, 1922 2,041,509 OByrne May 19, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 642 Great Britain 1881 

